Peters New To Chicagoland…The EnjoyIllinois 225 will mark the first race at Chicagoland Speedway for both the Camping World Truck Series and Timothy Peters. Peters has tested at the Illinois 1.5-mile several times, turning hundreds of laps on the truck in recent years. Although a short track racer at heart, Peters is strong on the intermediate tracks as well. He has earned six top-15 finishes, including four top-10's in only nine intermediate track races this season.
· Keeping the Momentum Going…Peters and his #17 Strutmasters.com team have been turning heads since joining Red Horse Racing. In just seven races, they have earned five top-10 finishes, including back to back top-10 finishes in the past two events. Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Peters overcame a flat tire and subsequent unscheduled pit stop late in the race to come back and finish 10th. The race before that, he tied his career best finish of fourth at Nashville Superspeedway and earned his first career pole. Peters is still chasing that first trip to Victory Lane but feels confident it's not too far away.
· Birthday Boy…Timothy Peters will celebrate his 29th birthday on August 29th, just one day after the Chicagoland Race. He would love to kick-off the Birthday weekend with a trip to Victory Lane. RHR teammate TJ Bell also celebrates his birthday this week. Bell turns 29 just four days before Peters.
· Mechanic Adds Color to the #17 Team…Mark Schmuck serves as mechanic and comic relief for the #17 Strutmasters.com team. Always full of energy and a witty comment to keep everyone laughing, Schmuck has made NASCAR his home for the past decade. Taking a risk and moving to Mooresville, NC from Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1999, Schmuck was hired by driver Mike McLaughlin to work on his Nationwide Series car. The team was Innovative Motorsports and Schmuck worked side by side with Rick Gay, who is now the #11 crew chief at RHR. In his NASCAR career, Schmuck has worked in all three top NASCAR series including teams such as Atkins Motorsports and DEI. He joined RHR in 2009 as a Jackman but also serves as a mechanic on the road and a fabricator at the shop. Schmuck is looking forward to the trip to Chicago for one special reason---Chicago Style Pizza.
Timothy Peters on racing at Chicagoland Speedway "I'm really looking forward to Chicagoland. I have tested there several times in the past and really like the race track. It's so much like Kansas and that's a track I really like. We are taking my favorite truck to Chicago and I'm really excited about that. This is our truck from Michigan, Kentucky and Nashville and we finished in the top-10 all three times with it. I'm looking forward to another good race and being there at the end racing for a win."
Crew Chief Chad Kendrick on Chicagoland Speedway "Timothy has been really good on the mile and a half tracks this year. We tested Chicago together last year and ran more than 100 laps so I know he feels comfortable on the track. That will really go along way on Friday towards getting us where we need to be. We have so much momentum right now and we need to get another top-10, hopefully a top-five finish, and keep that going."
Equipment Information Timothy Peters will compete with chassis # 138 in the EnjoyIllinois 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the same chassis he raced at Michigan, Kentucky, and Nashville where he finished eighth, fourth and fourth respectively.
